What does everyone think of letting college students own pets?

I know that they're not allowed in dorms, and many affordable apartments, but I believe that any companion animal is a good way to de-stress and to just feel accepted. I think the rules should be changed to allow pets inside dorms/apartments as long as the animal does not create any issues (noise, messes, etc.) If this were to happen, people could opt out of having a roommate with animals if they choose, or have allergies to a particular animal.

I just got a cat yesterday and I feel so much better about being away from home and not knowing anybody because now there's always someone who wants me around, and who will love me no matter what :)

But it got me thinking about all the other college students and how impossible it is for them to get a pet because they live in the dorms.

So I'm just curious as to what everyone else thinks! Maybe I can start a movement haha ;)b

It's just too much of a liability for the university. I wouldn't want to live in a dorm where lots of people were free to own pets--chances are, it would smell and be noisy and dirty. College students are just learning to be responsible for themselves. Not to generalize (there are lots of college students who ARE responsible), but let's not get other living creatures involved!

Then again, I lived in the hugest dorm in the Ivies, which was a circus anyhow. I could see a communal pet for like, a small dorm or house. But not keeping animals in your dorm room. That's not really good for the animals! They need space!

Pets are just one of those things that you get as you're older and secure more resources--there's also the issue of, what do you do with the pet when you move? How do you afford to take care of it? What if you can't take it with you? I'd love a pet but at this stage in my life I am not 100% positive that I can take care of it to the best of my ability, or take it with me when I move.

true, but what if it was just something small, like a hamster? would those be ok? haha i mean i know that if they got out it would be a problem, but maybe i'm just crazy and i need something to take care of or else i don't feel fulfilled. :-\

definitely! i would never get a cat if i didn't have an apartment! technically pets aren't allowed here, but i was desperate :-[ but i think if a college student has an apartment or one of those apartment dorm suite thingies, then an animal should be feasible!

i think my dogs are the best de-stresser in my life... I live in an apartment... but having dogs and cats in dorms would be a bad idea and a bit too hectic for a poor animal and not good place for them to live... get a fish or something if u live in a dorm

I think in general it's better for animals to join a family with a more settled lifestyle than most college students have. Of course there are exceptions. But I live in a university town, and so many animals are abandoned at the end of the school year it's shocking. And those are not dorm students; those are the ones in apartments or boarding houses or whatever.

IMO, a person adopting an animal should be making a lifetime commitment to that animal.

i lived in a dorm my freshman year and though i would've loved to have a pet, even something small like a hamster, i think the rule is good as it is. it's bad enough to live with someone you don't know and have to deal with them blasting their TV or leaving their blow dryer plugged where you can trip over it, etc. without also bringing animals into the mix. i had a small plant in my room and i was pretty happy just having that small thing to take care of.

i thought i replied to this before but i didn't. i think the problem is that when many college students move they don't try to find a place that accommodates the pet, they just get rid of it.

This. A lot of people at my school had clandestine pets (snakes, tarantulas, even a kitten) and when it became a problem because of vacation, transferring, whatever...the animal got "freed" (dumped).

And a hamster is small but they can generate a lot of smell (particularly in a small dorm room) if the owner is "too busy" to clean them regularly. And you have to consider other people's allergies etc too.

Definitely, in an apartment off campus, for a person who understands the Promise you make when you acquire a pet of any kind, a pet can be a real asset. But not in dorms...as someone said, too much liability for the university if someone has a bad allergy, or gets bitten, or the snake/tarantula escapes and turns up somewhere else and frightens the finder into conniptions...as also happened in my university. Someone's clandestine snake turned up under the radiator in the TV room and scared a student into literal fits. She wanted to sue the school.

For the record, when it comes to low-maintenance animals that de-stress, rats would be my choice every time. As a general rule, rats love anybody that isn't predator or prey, and will vie for your attention whenever you take them out. On the other hand (and htis is especially true of cages with more than one rat), rats are naturally very nest-oriented and will be content in a cage for much of the day.

The only probably with rats is that they get illnesses easily, but even that can be worked around surprisingly well. We've got a handful of rats at the moment, many of them with non-malignant tumors, but their growth is so slow we haven't had to take care of them.

My sis had pet rats for years, & I have to admit: I was surprised at how personable they were...

I think the comments above about pets in dorms are generally accurate, as far as they go... most of the time, especially for young college students, the responsibility just isn't there. But I think there should be a provision for 'special circumstances,' because not everyone fits that mold. When I was a freshman in college, I was a 23 y/o non-trad with a strong record of responsible pet management... not everyone is in the same place mentally, just 'cause they're in the same place academically.

My kid goes to college next fall; he's got a civilized, well-behaved dog that he's had for 5 years (& it's HIS dog, he takes care of all training/ feeding/ grooming/ etc.). He's also meticulously responsible, for himself & pets... he'll be a pre-vet major, at a university like a thousand miles away from everyone he knows, and he & the dog will both be sad. By college rules, he has to live on campus freshman year, but then he plans to try to work enough to pay off-campus rent, just so he can have his dog...

I'd like for colleges to have a provision for responsible pet people, on campus... If the dog has an AKC 'good citizen' certification, and the student completes a class on responsible pet ownership, and the family is willing to pay a deposit/ extra housing fees for more space (like you would for a private room), and pay for 'doggie day care' at a kennel while the student's in class... I think that could have mental health benefits not only for the student not abandoning a pet at home, but for others around them who would have pet contact without having to be respnsible for another living thing. 'One size fits all' rules seldom do...

I think it's childish to talk about what should be allowed and not allowed, akin to "daddy should buy me a unicorn". Whether pets are allowed on a specific property is a business decision by its property owner, and people who disagree with that decision are free to vote with their feet and go elsewhere. This naturally leads to someone figuring out that there's a demand for more pet-friendly apartments, college campuses, or whatever else, and profiting as the result.

I think it's childish to talk about what should be allowed and not allowed, akin to "daddy should buy me a unicorn". Whether pets are allowed on a specific property is a business decision by its property owner, and people who disagree with that decision are free to vote with their feet and go elsewhere. This naturally leads to someone figuring out that there's a demand for more pet-friendly apartments, college campuses, or whatever else, and profiting as the result.

It's like you put everyone on blast that wants to discuss ideas and whether the status quo is efficient, but you're the one that babbles on about how everything is wrong and not the way it should be and everything is a conspiracy, then you throw in a Nazi reference for good measure..and good god, I'm bored thinking about it. Seriously, give it a rest. If you don't give 2 cents whether apartments allow cats or not, then don't post to this forum. People who do care about these topics should be able to come here and not be accosted by your snide little comments.

We know your type, okay? You learn a handful of little facts in a college course one semester, and you comfort yourself with your elitist academic attitude because you believe you know X,Y, and Z, and everyone who doesn't know those particular facts are stupid and wrong. But you never take the time to try and learn from other people, because you assume they're not as intelligent as you or on your level. You're missing out on a wealth of information and relationships. It's sad, really, and I hope you grow up sometime before you graduate (I'm assuming you're still a kid--actually, hoping). How's that for childish?

Some schools require students live on-campus for the first year, and some schools are too rural to make off-campus living practical.

My school required us to live on campus all 4 years, thus no pets. So, first thing I did when I graduated (early! because I was sick of living on campus!) and got an apartment was to get a dog. It got lonely with no pets around!

When I lived in the dorms, the end of school was like going to a free thrift shop. I'd get all kinds of stuff. It was so much fun. I know that not all college kids do this; I'd didn't. The fact is that there was stuff outside of over half of the doors. Because of this fact I'm going to have to say that no pet ownership for college kids is not a good idea in general. My sister got her own apartment and got her first two dogs in college. If your responsible and secure enough to have your own place, then that's one thing but in general no. Besides, the dorms are dirty, loud, and confined enough. Unless its a critter in a cage, I don't see an anmial doing well in that situation.

The girl down the hall from me got a dog. The took it away from her when they arrested her for posession of marijuana. Lol. She was stoned and called for pizza while they searched her room. It was a big joke, because it was the Wellness Floor (no alcohol or tobacco). I wonder what happenned to the dog.